Running With Scissors
Friday, June 17, 2005
Well, I have survived yet another semester, much to my surprise. This morning I lived through 2.5 hours of hell, otherwise known as a harmony & analysis exam. Part of which was analysing a rather complicated Bach chorale, which I did a DREADFUL job of. I tend to panic in harmony exams. I look at all those notes, and consider the fact that I have to make sense of them, and translate them into roman and arabic numerals, and I PANIC.

The thing is, I love Bach chorales. I think that they are perhaps some of the most beautiful works ever composed, not least because they make so much sense. When you hear one, you just cannot imagine it being harmonised any other way. Such is the genius of good old J.S, who was always able to take a plain old chorale melody, cut right to the heart of its inner meaning, and harmonise it accordingly.

I feel terrible for doing such a poor job of analysing J.S's chorales.

So, J.S, I am sorry. I do understand the way that your mind works, and the way that you harmonise those chorale melodies does make perfect sense to me. I just have trouble conveying this to a series of numbers, in an exam situation. Please understand this.

If J.S could read this, he'd probably tell me to get back into the kitchen or something. 'A lass analysing my chorales? Crikey moses'.

anyhow, I'm drunk, so I'll sign off now.
Fiona expressed these musings at 5:01 AM
Synopsis
The life and times of a girl who likes cake.

The Cast And Crew
Fiona: A genius musicologist with a giant brain, who loves cake, pies and aeroplanes. Captain of Skybed 2.
Rob: Fiona's gentleman caller, also owner of a giant brain, and captain of Skybed 1.
Vanessa: Sister of Fiona, recently returned from a jaunt around the Continent.
Timothy: Friend of Fiona and gentleman caller of Vanessa, currently swanning around in Paris.
Nicholas: Friend of all of the above.
Helen: Platonic wife of Fiona, artist, and senior lecturer.
Mother: Self-explanatory.

Links to Alleviate Your Boredom
www.engrish.com
home.iprimus.com.au/ncarvan/
Other Blogs
News, Rants, Soliloquies and Reveries
Seventeenth

Recipe Of The Week: Orange and Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
125g margarine
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
2 eggs, or egg replacer equivalent
1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (125 mL) orange juice
3/4 cup raspberries. If you use frozen ones, don't thaw them, please.

1.Grease deep 20cm round cake pan, line base with baking paper, sprinkle with sugar.This helps your cakey to rise, as the mixture clings tenaciously to the sugar as it climbs up the sides of the pan.

2.Beat butter and sugar in medium bowl til all light and fluffy.

3.Beat in eggs one at a time, beating til just combined between additions. Or, if you are using egg replacer, divide it in half, pretend it's eggs and do the same.

4.Fold in flour and juice, in 2 alternate batches, ending with a flour batch.

5.Fold in 1/4 cup raspberries, gently now..

6.Now, assemble your cakey. Spread 3/4 of cake mixture into your pan, sprinkle with remaining raspberries. Spread with remaining cake mixture.

7. Bake in moderate oven (180 degrees) about 1 hour. Stand cake in pan 5 min,then cool on a wire rack.

8. Ice your creation. Orange or passionfruit icing would be nice with this one, I think. I usually just sift some icing sugar until I get sick of it, then add enough orange juice or passionfruit pulp to make a nice consistency.

9. Share with your friends and bask in praise (it'd be nice if you mentioned me, but if you don't, I'll forgive you). Or,
consume alone.